He won a gold medal and discovered in the process that he was one of 10 out of 12 team members without the required IQ handicap of 75 or under. Ribagorda claims his credentials were not even checked by his federation.

A subsequent IPC investigation revealed that of the 244 intellectually handicapped athletes in Sydney, only one third could prove they were eligible to compete.

After the Games, the IPC insisted on a more rigorous testing and classification system, but the International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disability (INAS-FID) failed to come up with satisfactory testing procedures.

In May 2001, the IPC excluded intellectually disabled athletes from the Winter Games in Salt Lake City. The IPC then extended a deadline to January this year to enable INAS-FID to suggest an acceptable solution. They rejected the revised plans, however, claiming that INAS-FID did not meet the stringent criteria required to ensure that there would be no cheating in Athens.

Phil Lane, chief executive of the British Paralympic Association, said yesterday: "It is regrettable that it has reached this point and that our athletes will not be eligible to take part in Athens. However, we support the IPC on the stand it is taking in terms of fair competition."